The semi-weekly fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1887-11-11
BLOWN TO PIECES.
Explosion of a Giant Powder
Magazine in New Jersey.
Four Men Killed and the Building
Completely Demolished.

Nearly 900 pounds of forcite, an explo-
sive something like dynamite, stored away In
the cartridge room of the American Forcite
Powder Company at McCainsville. near Lake
Hopatcopg, n j., went off a few days
since, killing four persons and blowing
the whole building to bits. The men who
were killed were workmen engaged in
packing away cartridges They are Henry
Todd, John Fancher, Frederick McDede and
Philip Myers, all married The cause
of the explosion is unknown, as none
of those who were in the building
are alive The superintendent had LETT
the building only a moment before the
explosion. The works of the company were
close to the lake and near the station or tnat
NAME and were erected only a few months ago
after the explosion of July Z, 1886, when ten
men were killed and property worth thousands
of dollars was destroyed. When the company
rebuilt its factory it scattered the buildings
over more territory, SO that If one blew up
the rest would not necessarily go up with 1t.
Every object in the vicinity OF the cart
ridge building is utterly demolished, and a
great hole in the ground ten feet deep Is all
there is to show that the bmidlng ever
existed. The ground was literally streWn
ing was left OF the four men
who were in the building but little pieces OF
charred flesh scattered here and there for
hundreds Of wards around. The explosion
shook the whole surrounding country, ana
people ran out OF their houses miles away III
the belief that there had been an earthquake
The American Forcite COmpanys works
at Hcpatcong are extensive, consisting OF
over fifty buildings, scat cred over 40 acres
of ground. The works employ, when run to
their full capacity, about 80 men, ana pro
duce daily 10000 pounds OF forclte.
For the last month, however, they
have only been running at about
one-third of their capacity, the daily product
being about six thousand pounds OF powder
At the time of the explosion there We're
only about fifty men employed. Only
small amount of forcite is kept
stored at the works, the greater
part of it being sent away as soon as manu-
featured. The ma gaines in which the forclte
that is kept on hand is stored are situated a
mile and a half or two miles from the mills.
The engine which furnished the power for
the exploded packing house was hurled into
the air considerable distance. and in It's de
scent it crashed through the roof of the
nitro-glycerine separating house, about lou
feet distant 1t caused no explosion.
Superintendent Nibelins was in this build
ing. and he had a narrow escape.
He was struck by piece of flying TIM
Der. but was not seriously hurt.
Some men at work in the glycerine washing
house, about sixty feet distant, were knocked
senseless by the shock. and one end of the
building was shattered. John Rogers and
Alonzo Love- who worked in another pack
ing house, were slightly hurt about the head
This part of Morris county has become one
of the greatest powder manufacturing centers
in the country, and within year and a half
twenty men have lost their lives IN eXplo-
| sions at the different works.